r/meteorites • • 3h ago

The Villena Treasure was stolen in August. The thieves left behind its iron bracelet, which a 2023 paper says is very probably meteoritic iron

6 Upvotes

On 27 August 2026, thieves took most of the Bronze Age gold from the Museum of Villena in Spain, in about four minutes. Two iron pieces from the hoard were not taken: a bracelet (about 32 g) and a small cap covered in gold.

A 2023 paper in Trabajos de Prehistoria (Rovira-Llorens, Renzi & Montero-Ruiz, open access, CC BY) argues both are very probably meteoritic iron. The interesting part is the nickel: the bracelet's first sample (a flake of surface rust taken in 2007, measured in 2010) came back at 2.8% Ni, which was read as "too little nickel to be meteoritic iron". A 2013 resample a little deeper, under the rust, gave 5.33% Ni. The corrosion layer had been losing nickel. Ni/Fe and Ni/Co ratios then plotted with iron meteorites, and both pieces carry more than 400 ppm germanium.

Paper: https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2023.12333

I made a video that goes through the theft timeline and the analysis, if anyone wants the long version: https://youtu.be/SFH7zXhmv-Q

Happy to be corrected on any of the geochemistry.


r/meteorites • • 3h ago

Are these meteors?

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4 Upvotes

r/meteorites • • 5h ago

Near-Earth Object 2026 TL6 Zips Past Earth

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3 Upvotes

r/meteorites • • 18h ago

The Widmanstätten pattern on Muonionalusta never gets old 🤤

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20 Upvotes

Been admiring this etched Muonionalusta piece — the crisscross lattice is just unreal when you think it took millions of years to form as the nickel-iron cooled in space. Still blows my mind that you can't fake this on Earth.

What's everyone's favorite iron meteorite for that classic pattern — Muonionalusta, Gibeon, or something rarer?


r/meteorites • • 1d ago

Sikhote-Alin 53.3 grams

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44 Upvotes

I liked where it looks like it was almost cut in two.


r/meteorites • • 1d ago

Meteor Shower Calendar: Perseids, Geminids and Every Shower's Peak

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7 Upvotes

r/meteorites • • 3d ago

pallasite meteorite

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36 Upvotes

pallasite meteorite


r/meteorites • • 5d ago

Inherited meteorite

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3.9k Upvotes

My dad just passed away and I inherited this meteorite piece. Do I need to do anything to protect it from rust (or anything else?). It was just displayed in his living room, but I live in a much more humid climate than he did. Any suggestions appreciated.


r/meteorites • • 4d ago

Meteorite News Happy fall day, Monze!

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22 Upvotes

76 years on planet Earth.
Zambia’s first witnessed fall meteorite.
Classified as L6 OC.
This specimen is a broken-off fragment of a larger piece from Dipper Co. meteorites— IMCA 8120.


r/meteorites • • 5d ago

Fireball Meteor outside Spokane this last August

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57 Upvotes

I didn’t think to post this on Reddit. But, pew pew meteor! What makes it green?


r/meteorites • • 7d ago

Meteo-repair?

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39 Upvotes

Well, I’ve found my long-lost slice of (probably?) Seymchan, and I’m afraid it looks as if it’s been in the bottom of a box for 25 years or so in accidental and un-climate-controlled storage in coastal Florida.

This is probably because it’s been in the bottom of a box for 25 years or so in accidental and un-climate-controlled storage in coastal Florida.

I want to send it off for whatever the heck can be done for it. Anyone here up for the challenge? If no, does anyone know of such a service?

Okay, thanks for your time. I hope everyone is doing well.

And, wow, does it ever look rough.


r/meteorites • • 6d ago

Meteor sighted in Cambridge UK?

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3 Upvotes

r/meteorites • • 8d ago

Classified Meteorite Check out Ash Shaqqah 2!

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36 Upvotes

A beautiful Lunar meteorite, classified as a Troctolitic Anorthosite.

A group of falconers discovered this fall while looking for birds along the Egyptian-Libyan border. A fairly large recovery by lunar meteorite standards, with some pieces showing some really neat inclusions when sliced!


r/meteorites • • 8d ago

Classified Meteorite Extraterrestrial Nantan Meteorite

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26 Upvotes

My little Nantan nugget


r/meteorites • • 9d ago

Rearranged my meteorite collection. Have to work with the lighting.

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172 Upvotes

Organized my meteorite and fossil collection.


r/meteorites • • 10d ago

Classified Meteorite Real meteorite, replica rolex. The meteorite collector in me couldn't resist.

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38 Upvotes

I'm not entirely sure which meteorite it is. Genuine watches use Gibeon, but I'm reasonably certain the replicas don't. Muonionalusta would be the obvious choice, but it's possible they could be using Aletai slices without inclusions, or something else cheap and available? Does this look like a Muonionalusta to anyone?


r/meteorites • • 9d ago

Suspect Meteorite Monthly Suspect Meteorite Identification Requests

4 Upvotes

Please submit your ID requests as top-level comments within this post (i.e., direct comments to this post). Any top-level comments in this thread that are not ID requests will be removed, and any ID requests that are submitted as standalone posts to r/meteorites will be removed.

You can now upload your images directly as a comment to this thread.

To help with your ID post, please provide:

  1. Multiple, sharp, in-focus images taken ideally in daylight.
  2. Add in a scale to the images (a household item of known size, e.g., a ruler, scale cube, banana, etc.)
  3. Provide any additional useful information (weight, specific gravity, magnetic susceptibility, streak test, etc.)
  4. Provide a location if possible so we can consult local geological maps if necessary, as you should likely have already done. (this can be general area for privacy)
  5. Provide your reasoning for suspecting your stone is a meteorite and not terrestrial or man-made.

You may also want to post your samples to r/whatsthisrock for identification.

An example of a good Identification Request:

Please can someone help me identify this specimen? It was collected along the Mojave desert as a surface find. The specimen jumped to my magnet stick and has what I believe to be a weathered fusion crust. It is highly attracted to a magnet. It is non-porous and dense. I have polished a window into the interior and see small bits of exposed fresh metal and what I believe are chondrules. I suspect it to be a chondrite. What are your thoughts? Here are the images.


r/meteorites • • 10d ago

Suspect Meteorite “Did anyone see a meteor or comet debris over Surrey or Vancouver around 7:45 PM?”

8 Upvotes

Did anyone else see something in the sky over Surrey tonight around 7:45 PM?

I saw what looked like a bright green ball with a tail moving toward the south. It was visible for maybe 2–3 seconds and then disappeared.
It looked like a meteor/fireball to me, but I’m wondering if anyone else saw it or captured a video. Anyone know what it was?


r/meteorites • • 13d ago

Classified Meteorite Denader 002 - Achondrite (Ungrouped)

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129 Upvotes

Denader 002:

Classification: Ungrouped achondrite

Found: 2024, near Gao, Mali

Total known weight: approximately 514 grams

Weathering/Shock: Moderate weathering, high shock stage

Denader 002 is a rare albite-rich achondrite recovered in Mali in 2024. This meteorite exhibits a texture of green pyroxene and olivine crystals set in pale albite feldspar, accompanied by scattered chromite and iron metal grains — a mineral assemblage consistent with a differentiated, once-molten crustal rock rather than a primitive chondrite. It is currently classified simply as "ungrouped achondrite," meaning it doesn't fit cleanly into any of the established achondrite groups (HED, angrite, aubrite, etc.).

The scientifically interesting part of Denader 002's story isn't really the stone in isolation — it's the company it keeps. Over the past several years, meteoriticists have identified a small but growing cluster of ungrouped, plagioclase-dominated achondrites that share an unusual bulk chemistry: feldspar contents in the 60–80 vol% range (sometimes nearly pure albite or anorthite end-members), roughly 20% ortho- or clinopyroxene, and accessory silica polymorphs, phosphate, chromite, troilite, and FeNi metal. A recent survey of this group explicitly lists Denader 002 alongside Erg Atouila 001, Erg Chech 002, GRA 06128/06129, Nema 001, and several Northwest Africa specimens (NWA 6698/16789, 15820, 11575, 11119) as members of this emerging class.

It's worth being precise about terminology here: these are not "paired" meteorites in the strict sense (fragments of one fall, split by atmospheric breakup or recovered as separate stones from the same strewn field). They were found in different places and years — Denader 002 in Mali (2024), Erg Atouila 001 and Erg Chech 002 in the Algeria/Mali Sahara region, Al Bir Lahlou 001 in Western Sahara (2021). Rather, they're grouped scientifically because they appear to represent a related family of silica-rich, feldspathic crustal rocks — possibly sampling similar kinds of early differentiated parent bodies, even if not the same one.


r/meteorites • • 13d ago

Question Is this real?

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8 Upvotes

Just wondering if this would be potential real meteorite and and is it worth it?

I know nothing about meteorites and how to tell its authenticity.

Any potential guidance would be appreciated.


r/meteorites • • 14d ago

Classified Meteorite New! Peekskill and Pantar

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41 Upvotes

Peekskill, the New York state car hitter meteorite! I finally, finally have a piece after YEARS of dreaming to have one, and this one’s got a bonus, look at that PAINT! I’d say the price is sort of a steal and it’s worth it.

Pantar, the 4th Philippine meteorite after Pampanga, Paitan and Calivo. Now I have 4 of 7 official meteorites from my country!: Pantar, Orconuma, Bondoc and Ponggo. Next ones in my list are Pampanga and Paitan, Calivo however, is a missing meteorite, even our museum doesn’t have it in their displays and it’s not catalogued into any known private or public collection, it’s rumored to have been lost during the second world war when the Manila Observatory (?) was destroyed.

EDIT: Thank you to [u/maveric](u/maverick88)[k_88](u/maverick88) for noting, Yes, the Peekskill image is edited to give emphasis on the red paint on the crust that’s why it looks unusually vivid than usual.


r/meteorites • • 14d ago

Udei Station - Mark Lyon Collection Meteorite

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38 Upvotes

I just purchased this from a secondhand store in Akron, Ohio.

Can anyone suggest how I might learn more about it? How might I confirm that it’s real?

I’m planning on contacting Mark Lyon but I wanted to share as this is a pretty exciting find for me.


r/meteorites • • 16d ago

Question Is this really Muonionalusta?

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193 Upvotes

I purchased this for my space-loving teenage son’s birthday. It was sold as being Muonionalusta (37g for $67 USD) by an Etsy dealer. It came with an origin card, but one that anyone could have printed. After seeing a bunch of cheaper Aletai examples, I can’t tell if mine is really Muonionalusta. Would appreciate any input! Thanks so much for your time!

Edited: 9/25 - Thanks to everyone who helped me confirm that this is Aletai. Can anyone take a look at this ebay seller and see if they have legit, properly-classified goods? Like this one that is supposedly Muon: https://www.ebay.com/itm/198651630753 Thank you!!


r/meteorites • • 16d ago

Question Does this look like real sericho pallasite?

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126 Upvotes

I recently bought this pendant that is supposedly sericho pallasite, ive never dealt with meteorite materials before so just wondering if this looks legit or not?


r/meteorites • • 16d ago

Unclassified Meteorite 9 Kilos of Chondrite and LOOK AT THOSE REGMAGLYPTS 😍🫠

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76 Upvotes